//------------------------------// // Canterlot // Story: Cutie Mark Charity // by Such A Chlorbag //------------------------------// I regret to inform you that your hometown of Canterlot is under attack. If the Ponyville guard would like to send reinforcements then that would be greatly appreciated. However, do not (DO NOT) attempt to intervene yourself, as these matters are far beyond your control. I only send this to you as Spike is the most immediate means of communication I have with Ponyville. I will send word when the situation is under control. Your Princess and Friend Princess Celestia The letter left Twilight stunned in disbelief. “Canterlot… is under attack?” she asked. “By who?” Spike, feeling helpless and frightened, merely shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t say. She just wants us to warn the militia.” Twilight began to pace back and forth. “Spike… I need to go there. Now.” Rainbow Dash, who along with the other ponies had just been standing in awe at the sidelines, interrupted by going up to Twilight. “Hold on there, Twilight! The princess made it sound like there’s some real bad stuff going on up there. I think you’d better leave it to the military.” “What if it was Cloudsdale?” Twilight shouted. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before giving a calm response. “I’d be there… faster than the speed of sound I’d be there…” “Exactly.” Twilight continued to pace. “I mean, the princess is obviously having a hard time handling the problem if she needs backup. So… she needs help… right?” Rarity decided to chime in. “Which is exactly what the Ponyville guard is for, Twilight. In the event our royal city of Canterlot is in peril… they’re sent in to help.” Twilight was starting to become angered. “Canterlot has the royal guard, Rarity! What can’t they handle? Huh? Tell me!” Rarity stuttered and looked toward the ground. “I-I don’t know… Twilight. I wish I knew but I don’t.” “Um… Twilight?” interjected Fluttershy. “I don’t mean to be rude… but… what could you do? I mean… that the royal guards couldn’t?” Twilight shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know, Fluttershy! But… I can’t just stand here! My old home is there!” She looked at Spike. “Our old home is there!” Twilight took a big breather before walking close to Spike so only he could hear. “What should I do, Spike? I feel so helpless.” Spike put his claw on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. “Do whatever your heart tells you, Twilight. It’s always worked before… hasn’t it?” Twilight brought her head up from Spike and turned back to her friends. “I’m going to Canterlot… see what I can do.” Pinkie Pie bounded over to Twilight. “If you’re going, we’re going!” The other three nodded in agreement. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I assume I can’t talk any of you out of this?” “Of course not!” said Rainbow Dash. “We’ve got your back through thick and thin! Got it?” Twilight closed her eyes to think for a moment, realizing she must take the leadership role once more. She turned to Spike. “Okay, Spike! You go warn the militia leader. He’s the brown stallion with the hour glass cutie mark on the south side of Ponyville.” Spike saluted and headed off immediately. “Pinkie Pie!” she continued. “You and I are going to my library to fill up the hot air balloon I have out back. I assume you have some sort of device that makes balloons blow up faster.” Pinkie saluted as well. “You bet your buttons I do! One balloon blower upper on the way, sir! Uh… ma’am… Lady… Mrs. Pony? Uh…” “Go!” “Right!” she said before hopping off to Sugar Cube Corner. “Rarity!” ordered Twilight. “You still have those reins we attached to the balloon?” Rarity looked upwards for a moment to search her thoughts. “Uh… I believe so! Would you like me to fetch them for you?” “Yes, and attach them back onto the balloon basket. It’s in the storage shed behind my library.” “As you wish!” said Rarity, running off to her boutique. “Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow stood at attention on her hind legs and saluted, while Fluttershy politely nodded. “I assume you guys already know your jobs.” “Sure thing Twilight!” said Rainbow Dash. “Fly you poor wingless ponies on up to Canterlot!” Twilight nodded. “Good. Now we just need to wait for everything to be prepared. Should be just a few minutes.” At that she turned around and started to head to her library. “Wait, what about mah sister?” asked Apple Bloom, forgotten in all the excitement. Twilight turned back around to face the filly. “I’m sorry, Apple Bloom. We don’t have time to run all the way into Sweet Apple Acres and then run all the way back. I’m afraid Applejack will just have to stay at the farm and keep working. Besides…” She turned back towards the library. “Maybe it’s best she didn’t know we’re in danger.” ooo Within minutes Twilight’s hot air balloon had been filled and had reins attached to the front. “Alright, everypony take your places” she ordered as she walked by. “Miss Sparkle?” a small voice called from behind Twilight. She turned around to see little Starlight looking up at her. “Yes, Starlight?” she asked. “I… I hope you come back okay.” Twilight smiled. “I do too” she said, attempting to hide the worry in her voice. She ruffled Starlight’s hair before turning back to the balloon and hopping into the basket along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took the reins in their mouth and stretched the length of the reins as far down as they could go. “Okay, girls, I want to make it to Canterlot in… well…” “Ten seconds flat?” asked Rainbow Dash. “My thoughts exactly!” said Twilight. Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy and winked. “Okay, pal. You ready to fly faster than you’ve ever flown?” Fluttershy sighed. “I… I’m not sure I’ll be able to, Rainbow. I don’t want to disappoint you, but…” She stopped midsentence as Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her shoulder. “Hey… come on. You can do it. Just use that assertive energy you have pent up inside to make yourself go as fast as you can!” “But… what if I fall behind?” “Don’t even think about it! Just do what I do. Close your eyes…” she said while following her own instructions. “Raise your wings… take a deep breath…” With eyes closed she cocked her head back to Twilight. “You ready, Twilight?” “We’re all set back here!” she responded. Rainbow Dash turned back to face foreword, eyes still closed. “Lean your head foreword…” Fluttershy mimicked all of Rainbow Dash’s movements. … “AND FLY!” With that Rainbow Dash jetted foreword alongside Fluttershy, who was gleefully surprised that she was keeping up. Behind him, they could hear the screams of Rarity, the awe inspired “woah” of Twilight, and the delightfully out of place cheers of Pinkie Pie. They quickly flew above the town of Ponyville and began to make their way north. Within a minute they had reached the snowcapped mountain that shadowed Ponyville, and Fluttershy wondered if Rainbow Dash would be able to break the sound barrier with a balloon tied to her. They began to soar higher, higher, until they were on the same plane as Canterlot, a blurry smudge of colors in the distance. As they began to get closer the smudge became larger and larger until the outline of a city and a castle was prominent. The two pegasi knew it was time to slow down as if by instinct, and they began to reel in their speed. By the time they got a few miles away from Canterlot they had managed to slow to an easy glide that let the five see Canterlot clearly… which turned out not to be a good thing. They could see a fire blazing on the outer wall, and a few of the roofs of buildings had been partially destroyed or else completely removed. A large knot was made in the stomach of the ponies, most of all Twilight’s. “Oh…” she said. “I hope everypony’s okay.” The pegasi landed them on the outskirts of the city where it met the wilderness. The three hopped out of their basket while the flyers removed themselves from the reins. As they turned to the city, they saw that it looked like a warzone. Buildings had holes in them, a few had been lit on fire in certain areas, and right in front of them was a large gash in a wall that had three distinctive trails. Rarity looked up and cringed. “Are those… claw marks? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! I simply do not do… claw marks!” “They look like Gummy’s!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Except… a lot bigger… and a lot meaner!” “Come on, girls” ordered Twilight. “We’ve got to get to the princess. Let’s head for the castle in the center of the city.” Just then a beaten and bruised pony rounded the corner, out of breath. “You… you girls need to get out of here… one of them’s on their way!” Rainbow Dash began to walk to his aid. “One… what?” she asked. “A g-“ he began to say, until a large black figure rounded the corner after him, picked him up, and tossed him away before disappearing around the building’s other corner. “WOAH!” the ponies shouted in disbelief. “What the hay was that thing?” shouted Rainbow Dash, frightened the most due to being in closest contact with the entity. Twilight caught up to her to make sure she was okay, and then looked up towards the sky again to look for the creature. “I’m not sure… but it was big… and it could fly!” “That wasn’t like Gummy at all!” cried Pinkie Pie. “Um…” said Fluttershy. “It looked like an animal… maybe I could talk to it!” Twilight looked around at the city. “I don’t think something that would do this to a city is on negotiable terms.” Rarity walked up. “Either way, we have to make it to the princess. And soon... I don’t want to leave poor Opal at home for too long…” The other four looked at her in disbelief before walking around the building and towards the center of the city. As they walked, they came across numerous lifeless bodies throughout the streets. Twilight sighed. “This is exactly what I was afraid of.” They crept further into the city, mindful of the dead, the falling rubble, the numerous screams heard resonating through the streets, and strange roars that were unfamiliar to them. They finally arrived to a large clock tower that stood watch over the city. “Hey!” shouted Twilight. “That’s the Lunar Clock Tower! It lights up after dark! I remember my parents would… take me to the top all the time… uh, but it’s one of the highest buildings in Canterlot! We should be able to see what’s going on from up there!” Rainbow Dash quickly hovered through the door. “C’mon! We don’t have time to waste!” The other ponies dashed in as well and began making their way up the thirty story clock tower. Once they reached the top, out of breath, they took a break at a ledge that protruded over the side of the tower. “Man!” yelled an exhausted Rainbow Dash. “Fluttershy and I could’ve just flown you all to the top, huh?” Fluttershy blinked. “I hadn’t really thought of that, but I suppose-“ “No time for that!” shouted Twilight. “We have to see what’s going on.” They looked out across the city of Canterlot. While the majority of the city was still its sterile ivory, many buildings had crumbled or been lit aflame. Smoke filled the air in a few patches over the city. “This is awful…” muttered Twilight. “Who could’ve done this?” As if to answer her question a large resounding wail was heard from beneath them, causing them all to gasp. They looked down and saw a black, shadowy figure spiral up and around a tower that was directly across from them. The creature made it to the top and perched there, allowing the ponies to see it for its true form. The creature was unlike anything the ponies had seen before. Instead of being quadrupedal, this creature stood on two legs. It had long, slender arms with five digited hands on the end. These all extended from its body, which had prominent pectoral and abdominal muscles. At the top of its body was its head, which was very rounded and had large pointed ears. Its nose was bunched up similar to that of a pig’s snout save for the length and circular shape, as it was more triangular. When it opened its mouth it revealed two rows of razor sharp teeth and a two pronged tongue that was much more prehensile than any pony’s. Its eyes glowed red. No irises, no pupils, just pure, luminescent red. But the most disturbing parts were its appendages. Above its eyes grew two, sharp pointed horns, that went towards the back of its head for a bit before jutting straight foreword to its point. On its back emerged two dark, bat like wings that went down the length of its abdomen and legs. There was also a long two pronged tail that came from its backside. His entire body was a deep, charcoal black color, which made it seem as if it were a creature that was merely an absence of color, rather than a dark being. Rainbow Dash gasped. “What the hay is that?” Twilight stood in awe as well. “I think… I think that’s a gargoyle…” “Whatever it is…” said Pinkie Pie “I think it’s gargoyle’in at us right now!” The large creature had noticed the five ponies looking out at him from the clock tower. He opened his mouth to bare its teeth and emit a large, ear splitting roar up at the ponies, so large that their hair flew back from the sound wave. “Woohoo!” said Pinkie. “He sure does know how to yell.” Rainbow Dash looked panicked. “Uh… Twilight… I think we’d better get out of here!” The gargoyle positioned its legs in preparation for a large jump. It coiled backwards before springing foreword at a great speed towards the clock tower. “I think you’re right!” shouted Twilight as they all turned to run back into the tower. But it was too late. Due to the gargoyle’s massive size, his collision with the building literally tore it in half like a pile of blocks, causing it to plow through it unharmed while the top half crumbled and tipped over. The girls screamed as the ledge they were on began to fall at a ninety degree angle. As the ledge separated completely, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were quick to act as they caught Pinkie Pie and Rarity under their arms. That still left one pony, however, without any support, and before any of them could react Twilight Sparkle fell off what was left of the ledge and began to plummet towards the ground along with large pieces of rubble and glass. “Twilight!” they all shouted as they watched their leader fall without having any way to save her. For a moment, Twilight screamed and flailed her arms and legs, desperate to find something to cling on to. Having lost all hope, Twilight curled into a ball in midair, closed her eyes, and began to chant within her head. I don’t want to fall, I don’t want to fall, Oh, Celestia please, don’t let me fall, don’t let me fall, Please! DON’T LET ME DIE! As if to answer her pleas, Twilight’s horn began to emanate a deep purple, creating a ball of light that encapsulated her and, within a moment, disappeared. The next thing she knew, Twilight was emerging from an orb of light on street level, looking up as the clock tower continued to fall. “I’m alive?” she asked herself, inspecting every inch of her body for confirmation. “Haha! Yes!” Then the gravity what had happened just set in, causing her to shake, tear up, and feel sick to her stomach all at the same time. “I’m alive…” She looked up to see her four friends descending towards her from the tower. At that moment the clock tower finally hit the ground, sending debris, glass, and a lot of dust their way. Within seconds they were covered in the thick dust, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy managed to land in front of Twilight Sparkle. Through the coughing they attempted to shake the dust off of their bodies, but it only did so much. Once they were as recovered as they could be, Rainbow Dash raced up to Twilight and hugged her as hard as she could. “Twilight!” she called. Twilight could tell that there were tears in her eyes. “Don’t you ever scare us like that again... okay? Never!” Twilight returned the hug as much as was possible. “I promise” she replied. Soon Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all ran up to Twilight and embraced her as well. “Oh Twilight” said Pinkie through her tears, “we thought you wouldn’t make it!” “Yes… you gave us quite the scare, darling” Rarity said. Fluttershy just enjoyed the solidity of the pony that was in front of her in silence. Twilight smiled. “I guess I’m harder to beat than I thought.” A large metallic number three landed in the street a few feet away and pierced the concrete, bringing them all back to reality. This followed by a haunting screech emanating somewhere in the sky above them, although the dust in the air made it impossible to see anything but brown. “We need to get out of here!” shouted Pinkie Pie. Twilight gestured to her right. “Here, let’s take this street; there shouldn’t be much dust over there!” The ponies began to run onto a street perpendicular to the one they were on currently, and sure enough they managed to escape the smoke cloud and were able to see a clear blue sky again. “Let’s get to the main courtyard!” said Rarity. “We’ll have fewer buildings to fall on us and there’ll be a straight path to the palace!” Twilight nodded. “Good idea Rarity! Come on, I know the way! It’s just a couple of blocks away!” The five sprinted as fast as they could around corners, trying not to be caught in a straight-a-way to be pinpointed by the gargoyle. Unfortunately, when they were forced to go along a straight path, Rainbow Dash turned around to see the beast take off from behind a building and glide quite quickly in their direction. “Oh no!” she cried. “Everypony duck!” Without second thought they all dove to the ground and put their hooves above their heads. The gargoyle swept over them and grabbed on to a building, causing him to stop his flight and latch onto it. It looked back at the ponies and snarled at them, showing its malicious intent. Rainbow Dash got into takeoff position as her face turned red with anger. “This thing is really starting to piss me off!” Without warning she took to the sky towards the gargoyle. “Rainbow Dash, wait!” called Twilight. “You don’t know if you can hurt it!” Rainbow Dash continued on her flight towards the beast, only to soar past its head and swing up into the air back over where her friends were. To their surprise, Rainbow Dash made another U turn to face the gargoyle once more, only now with more speed under her wings. She jetted towards its face with as much force as she could, but right before she impacted him the creature snatched her right out of the sky as if she were a fly. Now in the grip of the gargoyle, Rainbow Dash began to struggle. “Oh, this won’t end well” she commented. The monster held his arm back and then swung it at the nearest building, causing Rainbow Dash to be flung from his hand. While spinning out of control, Rainbow managed to pierce through the wall of one of the building’s upper floors, pass through three more walls on the inside, emerge from the other side of the building, and slam into the opposite building, creating a large crater in the wall that she finally rested in. “Agh… damn it” she muttered under her breath, hurt and shaken from what had transpired. “Dashie!” called Pinkie Pie. “Are you alright?” Rainbow sat up and checked her wings, arms, legs, ribs, and neck. All seemed to be present and accounted for. “Uh… yeah! I’m fine! I’m a little hurt, but… I’ll be okay!” Rarity asked “Can you fly?” Rainbow flapped her wings a few times to make sure that they were in working order. “Yeah! Hey… I’ll distract him; you guys make it to the courtyard!” Before they could interject, Rainbow Dash took off back through the hole in the opposite building that the gargoyle had made. She whizzed past his head and, in an act of confusion, the creature leapt off the building and flew after her. The other four took advantage of the time bought and galloped towards the courtyard. After a few blocks they had managed to arrive at their destination. The courtyard was a large rectangular area with a large artificial squared off lake running down the center. It had four high walls on all sides with small entrances on each side, and it was open to the sky. The northernmost gap in the wall leads to the beginning of the thousand step staircase leading to the princess’s castle. Fluttershy looked to the sky. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?” The remaining four looked around in search of their friend, hoping to see that the gargoyle had lost her. When they turned around, however, they saw something far worse. A gargoyle flew into the courtyard and landed a few yards away from the group. He looked behind himself to see if his friend, another gargoyle, had caught up, which in fact he had. It landed on the other side of the lake from its companion, and the two looked at the ponies and simultaneously roared. Twilight moaned in frustration. “Great! That’s just great!” “Woah!” yelled somepony behind them. They all turned and were delighted to see Rainbow Dash coming towards them before touching down. “Glad to see you brought some friends!” she said. Twilight looked confused. “Wait… so one of these isn’t the one that was chasing you?” Rainbow shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I gave him the slip a while back. I bet he’s still looking for me in the city.” Rarity gasped in panic. “So you’re trying to tell me that there’s three of these things?” Twilight nodded. “At least…” Rarity groaned in a way that was currently the correct amount of dramatic. Twilight looked up at the beasts that stared at them. “I’ve read about these things… they’re called gargoyles. But… my books said they were just mythical creatures… that they weren’t real!” Rainbow Dash huffed. “’Cause nothing your books say are false ever come to life!” In a display of dominance, the lead gargoyle looked into the air, opened its mouth, and began spraying fire right from his throat deep into the sky. Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened up wide. “Did your books say anything about that?” Twilight stuttered. “Uh… no. I’d… probably remember that part.” Without a word, Fluttershy broke from the group and slowly walked towards the closest gargoyle. “Um… hello…” she said sweetly. Rainbow Dash flinched backwards in surprise. “Fluttershy, don’t be an idiot!” she shouted. Fluttershy closed her eyes again to go into deep thought. Okay, Fluttershy. If there were ever a time to be assertive, now would be the time. It’s not so hard… you’ve done it before. It’s just a big… scary… gargoyle… She looked back up, sighed, and began to speak. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gargoyle, but you have to leave right now! You’re hurting all of these ponies and I don’t think it’s very nice to-AHHHH!” Before she could finish her commands, the gargoyle became angered and side swiped Fluttershy with its large hand. She flew across the giant courtyard until she smacked into the wall, creating a large cracking sound to be heard throughout. “Fluttershy!” the ponies shouted. Obvious to them that the gargoyles were not negotiable and looking for a fight, they all became posed for combat. Twilight immediately went into leader mode once more. “Pinkie Pie!” she shouted. “Go get Fluttershy out of here! She looks like she could be seriously hurt!” Without confirming or even letting Twilight finish her sentence, Pinkie Pie had begun galloping as fast as she could in Fluttershy’s direction. After the longest thirty seconds of her life, she had made it to the pegasus’ position. Fluttershy was lying sideways on the ground, curled up in a ball and not moving. Blood stained the ground in which she lay on. “Fluttershy!” called Pinkie Pie as she walked nearer to her friend. “Fluttershy, wake up!” Upon further inspection, she saw that Fluttershy’s wing was broken, with cartilage jutting out of her feathers and blood coming out steadily. She also noticed a large gash on Fluttershy’s forehead. Pinkie’s heart began to race as fast as it could and tears fell freely from her face. “Flutters? You need to wake up now, ‘kay? We need to go.” She began easily nudging Fluttershy with her nose, hoping it would spark some reaction. “Flutters? Fluttershy, we need to go! Fluttershy!” She used her hooves to violently shake her friend, just wishing that she would do something. “Fluttershy, please! Please, wake up! You can’t… you can’t go like this! You can't leave me!” She lied down next to Fluttershy and put her face into her neck, sobbing uncontrollably. “Please, please, please don’t die! Flutters, we need you! I need you! I don’t think I could smile without you! Oh, please… somepony… anypony… do something!” She completely gave in to her tears, burying herself into Fluttershy’s neck and embracing her with all her might. She cried harder than she’d ever cried before; harder than she thought she could cry. Please save my friend, please save my friend, PLEASE save her. Suddenly Pinkie felt Fluttershy’s neck expand, and the next moment she coughed extremely hard, spraying blood out of her mouth and onto the ground next to her. She began coughing more to get the blood out but… she was breathing! Pinkie Pie quickly sat up straight, in disbelief at what she saw. She instantly cupped Fluttershy’s face in her hoof and brought her in for a large hug. “Fluttershy! Oh, Flutters! You’re alive, you’re alive, you're alive! Haha! Oh, Fluttershy, I could just…” She turned Fluttershy’s face to the side and planted a large kiss on Fluttershy’s cheek, causing her to laugh. “I… *cough* I’m happy to see you too, Pinkie Pie!” she said with a giggle. Pinkie Pie brought her in for another deep hug, tears of joy now cascading down her face. “Flutters… I thought I’d lost you! Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, oh, Celestia, THANK YOU, oh my gosh…” Fluttershy smiled in content for a moment, and then whimpered when she noticed her body was wracked with pain. “Pinkie… I’m hurt” she said with pain in her voice. Pinkie Pie’s heart just about split in two at that moment. “D-don’t worry, Flutters. I’m here… we’re gonna fix you up… okay? Everything’s going to be okay.” She stood up and slid underneath Fluttershy, placing her belly lengthwise along her back, so she wouldn’t have to lie on a wing. Fluttershy’s right leg hung over Pinkie’s right leg, her left over Pinkie’s left, etc., and she rested her head on top of Pinkie Pie’s. Pinkie slowly began to walk towards the castle. “We’re gonna have to go to the princess’ castle… okay, Fluttershy? There are probably some ponies hiding inside that can fix you up… alright?” “Alright, Pinkie” said Fluttershy. She yawned and laid her head down on Pinkie’s head. “I’m… I’m really tired.” “No, no, no, no! Don’t sleep, Fluttershy! Stay with me! We gotta make it up all… these… stairs…” Pinkie Pie said while straining herself to climb the stairs with Fluttershy on her back. “Okay… I won’t sleep” Fluttershy replied. She wrapped her right arm around Pinkie’s neck and brought their heads closer together. Pinkie Pie looked up at her friend and grinned with a sweet feeling in her heart. “And smile, would’ya? ooo After Pinkie had left the others, they stood there eyes locked with the gargoyles, waiting for their next move. Rarity whispered to Twilight. “How can we ever hope to beat them, Twilight? Look how big they are!” “I… I’m not sure. But we can’t just stand here.” She looked to her right and saw that Pinkie Pie was crying over a limp Fluttershy, screaming for her life. “Oh no…” said Twilight. Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked over as well, their hearts instantly sinking. Tears reamed Rarity’s eyes. “She can’t be… she can't be…” Rainbow Dash hung her head low and began to shake in frustration and pain. “She… she was my oldest friend… and you killed her… oh, you’re gonna pay… you’re all gonna pay…” “Rainbow…” muttered Twilight soothingly. “AAAAAGH!” shouted Rainbow as she jetted directly upwards into the sky. She flew backwards and arced downwards, locking on to the gargoyle that hit Fluttershy. She increased her speed as much as she could, trying to fly faster than she ever had before. “HAVE A MOUTHFUL OF SONIC RAINBOOM YOU BASTARD!” Rainbow’s tail exploded in a wave of color as she broke the sound barrier. Dragging a rainbow along with her, Rainbow Dash plummeted towards the earth like a comet and met the gargoyle directly in its face. But she didn’t stop there. She continued her flight path with the gargoyle attached to her front as she pushed him all the way down the length of the courtyard. Only at the last second did she let up and break off of the creature, which due to inertia continued to soar backwards far enough to slam clean through the courtyard wall and into a building on the other side, which collapsed on the gargoyle once it landed inside. Rainbow quickly headed back to Twilight and Rarity, who were cheering, bouncing up and down, and pointing behind them. Once she got closer, Rainbow Dash looked up to see Pinkie Pie carrying a living Fluttershy on her back. She sighed and rolled her head in relief. “Thank Celestia.” A roar directed her vision upwards once more. The gargoyle that had lost track of her earlier before seemed to have realized her location, as it was soaring towards her at top speed, angered by the death of its comrade. “Come on big guy!” shouted Rainbow Dash. She took flight the opposite direction as it attempted to grab her along the way. Down on the ground, the other gargoyle howled at the death of its friend. It quickly turned to Twilight and Rarity with the lust for blood evident on its face. Twilight looked to Rarity with an eyebrow raised. “So… d’you do target practice with the rocks like I said?” Rarity nodded. “Up until I was tasked with Masquerade’s clothing line. Although the day he showed up I became so frustrated with myself that I… did a little target practice in my boutique… so to speak. That’s when I called Fluttershy for help.” Twilight huffed. “Good. Looks like we’re gonna need it.” The gargoyle sprinted towards the two ponies, using both its arms and legs to gain momentum. It leapt into the air and attempted to fall on them, so each pony quickly jumped to the side to avoid getting squished. When it landed, it did so with such force that pieces of concrete flew in all directions, one chunk landing right next to Twilight. “Rarity! This one!” she yelled across to her friend, nodding towards the piece of concrete. Rarity nodded affirmatively. When the gargoyle stood up and looked for the ponies, Twilight and Rarity both focused their magic on the concrete chunk. It lifted into the air and the aura of magic around it intensified in brightness and frequency. “Now!” shouted Twilight. The piece was released from the two ponies and quickly soared towards the gargoyle’s face, hitting it dead on. The beast was flung onto its back, leaving Twilight and Rarity celebrating. It quickly rose to face them again, and in turn decided to pick up its own slab of concrete and throw it at Twilight. She screamed, if only for a moment, but then quickly activated her horn and focused all of her energy on the slab. Surprisingly, it held, leaving her and Rarity thoroughly impressed. “Rarity!” shouted Twilight. “Jump on!” “What?” asked Rarity, flabbergasted. “Hurry!” replied Twilight. The gargoyle began to sprint at them again as Rarity hopped on top of the slab. Twilight quickly hurled it at the monsters face, crumbling the slab and launching Rarity into the air. The monster prepared for it this time and was only slowed down, that was until Rarity landed on its shoulder. “Uh… what?” she asked herself as she was surprised to be face to face with the gargoyle. She acted quickly, however, as when the monster turned its head in her direction she spun around and bucked him right in the eye. The gargoyle reeled back in pain as Rarity politely jumped off of his shoulder and landed on the ground, humored by her accomplishment. “Hah!” she shouted. “There’s something on your face. It was p-WOAH!” The gargoyle quickly counterattacked by ejecting fire out of its mouth in Rarity’s direction. Twilight saw it coming so she enveloped Rarity in her magic and quickly pulled her out of the way. Rarity was released from Twilight and tilted her head. “How’s your magic?” she asked. “Fine” replied Twilight. “Yours?” “Good… how exactly do you plan on defeating this thing, Twilight?” Twilight thought for a moment. “Well… just like Rainbow Dash, I suppose. We’ll have to kill it.” “I see… and how do you propose to do that?” "No idea.” The gargoyle ripped up another slab of concrete as they talked and tossed it at the two. Twilight gasped. “Jump!” Both Twilight and Rarity respectively used their magic to lift themselves in the air and let the slab pass underneath them. It crumbled on the stairs behind them, causing Twilight to turn around. She noticed that there was a small spire on each side of the stair case. “Rarity!” she said. “When I say so, focus all of your magic on the stair case underneath me and try to lift it up and in that direction!” as she pointed to the left. “Um… alright.” Twilight turned to the gargoyle and donned a mocking voice. “Come on, you big lug! Come eat my pony brains, or… whatever it is you do!” As the gargoyle took chase, Twilight turned around and ran up the staircase. Once a quarter of the way up, she turned around and stared the gargoyle dead in the eye. I hope this works she thought to herself. She looked down and focused her aura on the staircase, the largest object she’s ever dealt with. She noticed Rarity’s blue aura began to mix with hers, letting her know that she was ready. Twilight saw the shadow of the gargoyle creep up on her. “Rarity, now!” At the same time Twilight and Rarity used their magic to lift the entire staircase off of the ground into the air, sending Twilight and the gargoyle up with it. Once in the air, Twilight grabbed a large piece of earth with her magic and flung it at the confused monster. It hit its target square in the chest, propelling it downwards again. Before the gargoyle could regain composure in the air, it landed right on the staircase spire, piercing it through the heart. Twilight disappeared in a bright flash and reappeared on the ground next to Rarity. “Twilight… why, that was amazing!” Twilight was out of breath, but she managed to speak. “Yeah… I thought so… too…” The gargoyle howled into the air before going limp aboard the spire. Strangely, black smoke began to rise from the creature, almost as if it was evaporating. “Twilight…” said Rarity, “it’s made of ash.” Twilight nodded. “I… I don’t understand.” The gargoyle continued to flake away until it was merely a trail of ashes ascending into the sky before disappearing in the clouds. As the two were looking in the sky, they chanced upon seeing Rainbow Dash clashing with the last gargoyle midair. Rainbow was using her speed to gain an advantage over the beast, swirling around it in a spiral in an attempt to confuse it. She ended the spiral by going perfectly perpendicular with the gargoyle then slamming down on its chest as hard as she could, causing it to plummet to the ground. It landed with a thud and created a crater similar to the first monster. “Go Rainbow Dash!” shouted Twilight as her and Rarity began to walk nearer the defeated beast. Rainbow dash flew down and slowed her flight as she hovered over her trophy. “Yeah… I’m pretty awesome, what can I sa-OW!” The gargoyle snatched her out of thin air, only feigning his death. “Gee, you really like doing that, huh?” asked Rainbow Dash as she looked the beast in the eye with disgust. The gargoyle vaulted up into the air while simultaneously spinning around and tossing Rainbow Dash into the ground, causing her to crash into the crater she had just created. Rarity jumped into the crater and put her hoof on Rainbow’s head. “Are you alright dear?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes were spinning in opposing circles, but with a quick shake of her head she had set them back to normal. “Ugh… I’m getting a little weary, but… I can keep going!” Rarity rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Where is Applejack when you need her?” Rainbow wrapped her arm around Rarity and flew them both out of the crater to land next to Twilight. “Forget Applejack, where the hay are the princesses?” “Right here” a voice called from behind them. The three ponies turned around with awe to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking down the remnants of the royal staircase. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity quickly bowed down in respect, but Rainbow Dash stood firm with a look of anger on her face. “It’s about time!” she shouted to the princesses. “What took you so long to get here?” As Celestia and Luna strolled past the three, Celestia quickly looked back to answer her question. “We were busy, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Too busy?! Too busy to save your royal subjects from dying?” Celestia turned all the way around to face Rainbow Dash. “Yes… we were. We sent the royal guards, but that obviously didn’t work. Then we sent for the Ponyville militia, which you obviously failed to bring.” She turned back towards the gargoyle that was lying in wait, gathering as much energy as it could before taking on the sisters. “Rainbow Dash!” shouted Twilight. “Show some respect, I’m sure they did what they could!” But Rainbow Dash couldn’t sit still. “What kind of princesses are you? What could you have possibly have been doing that’s more important than stopping gargoyles?” Luna turned around with anger in her eyes as she stomped over and leaned down face to face with Rainbow Dash. “Fairest Rainbow Dash, I assure you that we followed proper procedure when dealing with this crisis. As royalty, we are tasked with our safety most of all, for without us there would be no rotation of the moon or the sun. So we apologize for not being on the… front line, as you say, but recall that all five of you are disobeying a direct order from the princess by being here. And while we do thank you three for destroying two of these beasts, we advise you to stand back as we deal with the last one.” Rainbow Dash’s frown stood firm, but she remained quiet and backed up to stand next to Twilight and Rarity. Luna turned back to her sister that was standing at the edge of the lake staring at the gargoyle. When Luna arrived, Celestia spoke. “Shall we end this?” “We shall.” Celestia and Luna’s eyes lit up bright white, indicating to the gargoyle that they were ready to fight. It flung itself into the air and soared directly towards the sisters, who didn’t even flinch. Right before the monster arrived at their position, Princess Celestia activated her horn which created a giant wall of light in front of the sisters that was as tall as the courtyard walls. The gargoyle slammed into it and flew back into the lake. Celestia removed her shield as Luna stepped up. She ignited her horn and shot a beam of lightning directly into the lake, sending arcs of electricity throughout the water and into the gargoyle, making it writhe and roll in horror. The gargoyle managed to roll to the side and emerge from the lake, breaking the circuit Luna’s lightning had with it. It stood up and flared its wings before charging the two and shooting fire out of its mouth. Again, Celestia put up a shield like object, although now it was a luminescent ball. The sphere absorbed the fire, and when the monster ceased its attacks, Celestia shot the ball back towards her enemy, causing it to explode on impact with the beast and giving it a large burn mark on its chest. The gargoyle screamed in pain as its flesh burned off of its skin, ironically being flakes of ash falling off of its body and sailing upwards with the wind. Realizing it was severely outmatched; the gargoyle turned around and took to the sky. Without leaving her position, Luna’s horn lit up and all of the clouds in the sky began to cumulate together. The once white clouds turned dark gray and began to swirl in a giant hurricane above the royal courtyard. Two beams of lightning emerged from opposite sides of the eye of the storm, wrapping their electric tendrils around the arms of the gargoyle and dragging him back down to the ground. The two sisters flared their wings and took to the sky. Within seconds they were in front of the shackled gargoyle. Celestia shot a small ball of light into the creature’s chest, causing it to fall back. With Luna still forcing it down with her electrical chain, the two sisters jumped on his chest and walked up towards its head, looking it straight in the eye. “I’m not sure what you are” said Celestia, “but whoever sent you has a clear message. And so do we.” Luna planted a hoof on the creatures face. “Do not harm our ponies, or we will harm you. And whatever you send our way, it surely will not be enough. Three young girls managed to kill two of your creatures, imagine what our army could do.” Celestia lit up her horn, which extended a long blade of light from the tip. “Don’t come back.” She swung her head from left to right, severing the beast’s head and making the body underneath them crumble into ash. The three ponies stood in awe as the princesses returned to them. “Well, Twilight” said Princess Celestia, “I hope none of you were hurt too badly.” The three shook their heads altogether. “Excellent! Come with us. You’re friend Fluttershy is being tended to in our palace.” The ponies began their journey up what remained of the large staircase headed towards the royal palace.